First pictures emerged of London terrorist as mum breaks silence after deadly attack
THE first pictures of the London terror attacker have emerged showing him smiling as a schoolboy in Kent, as his mother breaks her silence.
THE first pictures of London terrorist Khalid Masood have emerged, including one of him smiling in a school sports team as a teenager.
London’s Metropolitan police released the undated mugshot of the man behind the attacks that left five people, including Masood, dead.
The attacker was born Adrian Russell Elms in Kent to a 17-year-old single mother but later changed his surname to that of his stepdad, becoming Adrian Ajao.
He apparently frequently changed between his birth name and that of his stepfather throughout his frequent brashes with the law, before he converted to Islam in 2009.
He then changed his name again to Khalid Masood but used several other aliases including Khalid Choudry, police said.
‘VAMPIRE’ WITH ‘SPLIT PERSONALITY’
The attacker grew up in the UK’s south and went to Huntleys Secondary School for Boys in Tunbridge Wells where the pictures were taken.
He was described as a bright student before turning to a criminal life and converting to Islam around 2009 and changing his name to Khalid Masood.
At one point he ran a television repair business and taught English in Saudi Arabia where he described himself as “friendly and approachable”.
He claimed to have an economics degree on his CV and said he was a “good listener” who exercised four or five times a week.
“I have demonstrated an ability to explain ideas in a clear, confident and professional manner,” he wrote.
Eleven arrests have been made in London and Birmingham over the attack with a 39-year-old woman released on bail.
Neighbours at his Birmingham address said he had been dubbed a “vampire” for walking the streets at night wearing black.
Polish woman Anna Goras, 32, told The Sun he had a “split personality” where: “His face would change in a moment and his eyes would go hard and look evil.”
“It’s hard to think that a man who gave me and my kids a lift home from school could have turned into a killer,” she said.
MOTHER ‘TOO UPSET’ TO COMMENT
Khalid Masood’s mother she is “too upset” to comment on the attack.
Janet Ajao, 69, was approached at her farmhouse in South West Wales by The Sun before speaking briefly with a police officer.
A police source said: “She is too upset and adamant she won’t make any comment on anything at the moment.”
The attacker’s mother and her husband Phillip, who is Masood’s stepdad, live in the village of Trelech in Welsh-speaking rural Carmarthenshire. Pictures on a local craft website Folksy shows she runs an online business selling handmade bags and cushions.
Two undercover cars were stationed outside the family home although there was no evidence of it being searched or the family having done anything wrong.
Masood’s neighbour in Birmingham Iwona Romek described the man she had lived next to for five months as “normal family man who liked to take care of his garden.”
She said he had a wife and young child and identified the assailant after he was pictured on a stretcher after the attack.
HISTORY OF A KILLER
Police said Masood had been jailed twice for violent crimes including stabbing a man in the face in 2003.
Neighbours said he was radicalised during his second jail sentence and abandoned his old life after his release from prison, including his long-term partner, Jane Harvey, and their two young daughters.
One villager said: ‘When he got out of prison he decided he wanted to live an Islamic life and didn’t want anything to do with his past life at all.
‘He left Jay and the girls and went to live in some dump in Eastbourne, and I think he met someone else.
“He never came back after that and Jay was left to bring up the two girls on her own.’
Tragedy struck when their elder daughter Andi was hit by a car as she ran to catch a school bus and was almost killed, the neighbour said.
Her injuries were so serious that she was left in a wheelchair — a family tragedy which may have affected Masood’s decision to use a car to mow down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge.
He has two half-brothers Alexander and Paul Ajao. Paul, 50, lives in Oxfordshire and runs a number of florists and fabric companies.
Deputy Commissioner Rowley said the force had made two “significant” arrests overnight leading to eleven people in custody and one woman who was released on bail.
He said five searches were ongoing and 16 had been completed, with “massive amounts” of computer data seized during the raids.
“We’re keen to hear from anyone who knew Khalid Masood well. Anybody who understands who his associates were and places he’s recently visited,” he said.
FATHER-OF-THREE “HELPED CONVERT” ELDEST DAUGHTER TO ISLAM
The UK’sMail Onlinereports the killer has two daughters, aged 19 and 24, with Ms Harvey.
An unnamed friend told the publication it was Ms Harvey who left Masood after he was jailed over the 2003 stabbing.
The source said Masood had helped convert one of his daughters to the Islamic faith.
“The elder daughter converted to Islam and is living in Birmingham,” the source said.
“She wears a full face veil and I think had changed her name. It was her father who had helped convert her.
“He wanted the younger daughter to convert but Jane was against it and there was quite a family struggle.
“I know Jane was very upset and wanted her to stay at home and continue her studies.”
According to the Mail Online, the younger girl lives with her mother, the director of a chemical company in Kent.
There is no evidence any of Masood’s family are radicalised or knew about Masood’s extreme beliefs or his terror plans.
FIFTH VICTIM NAMED
A fifth person has died after injuries sustained in the attack. He has been named as Leslie Rhodes, a 75-year-old man from South London.
Two people remain in critical condition, one with life threatening injuries. Two police officers also remain in hospital including PC Kris Aves who is said to be facing “life changing injuries”.
The father, 35, was walking across Westminster Bridge with two colleagues “when the car came from out of nowhere”.
He underwent eight hours of surgery following the attack.
sister Nikki Tapner, 42, said: “I don’t know that much about what’s going on.
“All I have been told is he has been hurt but his life is not in danger. My parents are there with him.”
Deputy Commissioner Rowley said at least 50 people were injured in the attack with 31 requiring hospitalisation.
US TOURIST SHARES FINAL PICTURE
US tourist Staci Martin has shared a picture she took with slain policeman Keith Palmer within an hour of his death.
The Florida woman said she asked the police guard for a picture outside Westminster.
“It’s my first time in London and I see his hat and I’m like I have to take a picture of him with his hat,” she told ABC News.
“I walked up to him and said ‘do you mind if I take a picture?’ He said ‘no problem’, he was really nice.”
SLIVER OF TIME
It’s also emerged that Khalid Masood managed to run through the gates of Parliament as they were opened for a car carrying Acting Police Commissioner Craig Mackey who was leaving a ceremony at Parliament House.
Commissioner Mackey revealed yesterday he was a witness to the event and had to give a statement like anyone else.
The bizarre coincidence will be subject to investigation as questions have been raised over whether security could have been any more stringent at the site.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said a full review will be conducted. Police and emergency services have been praised for their response.
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